Loving the Love Hotels

During our travels in Korea and Japan we often stayed in so-called love hotels. They can be found in most places and are often much cheaper than other hotels. They have a bit of a seedy reputation but undeservedly so. The ones we stayed in, with the exception of one or two, were very nice hotels with lots of amenities.

Most of them are rated as two-star hotels but they have the amenities of a three- star hotel or better.

The rooms are often twice as large than other hotels, with king-size beds and they all have amazing spa-like bathrooms.

They are stocked with toiletries, including razors, toothbrushes, all kinds of skin lotions and creams as well as soap, shampoo, conditioners, towels, robes and slippers.

Some of the rooms had massage chairs, one had a slot machine while another had a dart board – in case you get bored, I guess. Large screen TVs were standard and one even had a projector and screen.

Many of them offered room service which is unheard of in Japanese hotels. Some of the ones we stayed in included breakfast which you order the night before and is delivered to your room at the appointed time through a two-way hatch to promote anonymity and privacy.

The hotels are basically self-serve with separate entrance and exit doors and separate elevators, one designated to go up and the other to go down, again to minimize contact with staff and other guests.

In the lobby, there is usually a large screen with photos and descriptions of the rooms. There are often theme rooms that cost more. You select your room and how long you would like to stay—from a few hours to overnight—and make payment with your phone or credit card.

Some of them will have private or semi-private garages you can drive into, make payment using a machine in the garage, and enter your room.

Most of the ones we stayed in were in the $50-$70 range whereas more conventional hotels often cost quite a bit more. Japan was definitely more expensive than Korea where we had rooms as cheap as $35.

The sexual aspects of the hotels are always present. There would always be condoms, and a “lifestyle toy,” or vibrator, complete with a cover condom for it ( sure hope people use those). Many of the rooms also had small vending machines with more sex toys you could buy.

The love hotel industry in Japan is huge, worth some $40 Billion annually, twice that of the country’s anime industry. Some of the hotels are now owned by larger companies, complete with memberships and rewards points systems.

These hotels get used by lovers for a an afternoon tryst. By couples who may be having an affair, and, yes, probably also by men with prostitutes. But in countries where living quarters can be small and are often shared with one spouse’s parents, as well as children, they offer a private refuge for intimacy they might otherwise not have at home. And they also get used by budget conscious travellers like us.

You can book them on sites like Agoda and Booking.com. They’re often labeled as ‘adult only’ hotels. Or you can just walk in and see what rooms are available and get one on the spot but they’re often cheaper on booking sites.

Regardless of their reputation, we loved staying at the love hotels and highly recommend them to other travellers.